Ah, la salade niçoise… One of the classics of French cooking and one of my favorite things to dig into sitting on the terrace of a café, dreaming idling away the afternoon by the sparkling Mediterranean. But really, who wouldn’t want to dig into a big, fresh salad bursting forth with the flavors of the sunny French Riviera, no matter where you live? There’s always…
First I came up with the title for this post, since I thought it would be a fun jeu de mots. But then I realized I had to figure out what the heck I was going write about. So I put on my long-neglected thinking cap, scrolled through the email addresses of my last few remaining friends, and scanned my agenda, desperately searching for inspiration….
One of the biggest cultural differences between the French and Americans is the acceptance of public nudity. I don’t think I need to tell you which side I’m on: I’m a big proponent of it. As long is I get to keep my clothes on in public. But for others? Allez-y, mes amis! In spite of their alleged laissez-faire, free-wheelin’ attitudes, San Franciscans are not…
One of my good friends, who’s been living in Europe for the past eight years, announced the other day that he’s probably moving back to the states. Thinking about it, he probably… …won’t have to get all dressed up to go to the store to buy a hammer or a sponge or a pencil. …won’t have to wear clothing that actually fits. …will have to…
People often say I’m the luckiest person in the world for the kind of life they perceive that I lead. But I’ve found some folks who’ve got me beat, hands-down. I’m back from my book tour, which was exhilarating but made me a tad homesick. Although really, if one thinks about it, how many times can one visit Target in a month? And don’t even…
If you want to see a what a human head looks like when it explodes, there’s no reason to waste your money on tickets to the latest Mel Gibson movie. Just take me to Ikea. At first, it seems the shopping day is going to be a lot of fun as you prepare for the big trip, flipping through that cheery Ikea catalog featuring handsome…
When I told a friend that I was going to Italy to learn how to make coffee, she responded, “You just dump the coffee into a filter and pour water over it. What else do you need to do?” Well, since you asked, plenty. Illy barista Giorgio Milos shows off his skill, and one of my first efforts to match his First of all, there’s…
Day #2: Just in case you live in a top-floor Parisian apartment with feeble water pressure, if you’re testing recipes involving baked meringues, I don’t recommend disposing of them here. I hope by tomorrow they’ll finally be gone. UPDATE: March 8 (the next day)—they’re still not gone!
Join me on my Spring 2026 book tour for my latest book, The Great Book of Chocolate
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